MSNBC hosts hit back at Trump’s insults – World

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump lied about their December encounter in a tweet and that his “unhealthy obsession” with their program doesn’t serve his mental health or the country well.

The two MSNBC personalities postponed a vacation in order to respond to Trump’s tweet, which drew wide condemnation a day earlier because he called Brzezinski “crazy” and said she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” when he saw them at his Florida estate.

“We were heartened to hear a number of Republican lawmakers call out Mr. Trump for his offensive words and can only hope that the women who are closest to him will follow their examples,” the hosts said in a co-bylined column posted Friday on the Washington Post’s website.

They planned to appear on their show an hour after its 6 a.m. start to discuss the issue, colleague Willie Geist said.

His colleagues warmed up for him, with panellist Donnie Deutsch calling the president “a vulgar human being.”

Known Trump for more than 10 years

For their part, the hosts said they had known Trump for more than a decade and have “fond memories” of their relationship. They were at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida shortly before the New Year in December to encourage Trump to give them an interview.

‘The Donald Trump we knew before the campaign was a flawed character but one who still seemed capable of keeping his worst instincts in check.’– Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC hosts

They said Trump was lying about Brzezinski having a face-lift, although “she did have a little skin under her chin tweaked.”

Their program and Trump have had a tortured relationship. They were criticized by some for being too close to Trump during the campaign and giving his candidacy an early boost, but have turned sharply against him. Brzezinski in recent weeks has wondered whether Trump was mentally ill and said the country under his presidency “does feel like a developing dictatorship.”

The hosts said in the Post column that they’ve noticed a change in Trump’s behavior over the past few years that left them neither shocked nor insulted by the Thursday tweet.

“The Donald Trump we knew before the campaign was a flawed character but one who still seemed capable of keeping his worst instincts in check,” they wrote.

Trump on Thursday had launched a crude Twitter attack on the brains, looks and temperament of Brzezinski, drawing bipartisan howls…